Interval Training and Walking

Interval walking (incorporating interval training into your walks) simply means alternating bursts of intense, high activity with bursts of lighter activity.

The bursts of lighter activity are also called recovery periods because you are allowing your heart rate and breathing to slow down a bit to prepare for the next high intensity interval.

Interval walking has many benefits, which include:

Burns more calories. During those bursts of high activity, you will burn more calories than simply walking at a steady pace at a lower speed.

Improves your cardiovascular fitness. Strengthen your heart and improves your overall fitness level.

Burns more fat. You’ll burn more body fat than just walking at a steady, continuous pace.

Beats the boredom. Interval training adds variety to your walking routine.

Avoids the plateau. Interval training constantly challenges your body and prevents it from adapting and reaching a plateau, which slows your weight loss progress.

Interval training is easy to incorporate into your walking routine. As you add interval training to your walks, start slowly.

At first, add only one or two 5-minute high intensity intervals to your walks until you build your stamina. Ultimately, change one or two of your entire walks per week into an interval training program.

Interval walking requires you to increase the intensity of your walking for a short burst, then return to your normal walking pace to recover and prepare for the next high intensity burst. There are two ways to increase the intensity of your walking:

1. Increase the speed at which you are walking. You can simply walk at a faster pace during the high intensity intervals.

2. Increase the resistance level. Find some hills to walk up or increase the incline on the treadmill during the high intensity intervals.

The length of each interval is entirely up to you and should be based upon how you are feeling that day. During the bursts of high activity, increase your pace or resistance level enough so that you find it difficult to hold a conversation. Following this “talk test” will help you determine if you are expending enough energy to be considered high intensity.

During the bursts of lower intensity, also called the recovery intervals, you should slow your pace or decrease the resistance level until your heart beat and breathing slow down. This is the time to recover from the previous high intensity burst and to give your body a brief rest before beginning the next high intensity burst.

Get Started

* Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes first by walking until you become warm and feel your heart beat a little quicker.

* Trust your body and slow down if you feel overtired or are in any pain. It will take a few weeks to build your stamina, but you will soon begin to see the benefits. Interval walking is a powerful way to lose weight.

1. Beginner Workout: After warming up, walk at your normal pace for two minutes, then add a burst of high intensity for one minute. Then return to your normal pace for two minutes and then add another burst of high intensity for one minute. Continue this pattern for the rest of your workout. And, if this is too difficult, you can increase the length of the low intensity walking to three or four minutes. 2. Intermediate Workout: After warming up, walk for two minutes at your normal pace, then increase your speed or resistance level for two minutes. Then return to your normal walking pace for two minutes and once again increase your pace or resistance level for another two minutes. Continue this pattern for your entire walk.

During your high intensity bursts, you can walk briskly, jog or just climb a hill. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being exercising at your highest possible level, aim for a level of 7 to 8 of exertion.

Can interval walking help you burn extra fat and calories AND lose weight quicker? You bet it can! Many experts say that walking for 30 minutes using an interval program is as effective as walking at a steady pace for 60 minutes.

Interval training also strengthens your heart and lungs and provides a great physical challenge to your body. It truly is one of the best ways to improve your fitness level and lose weight as quickly (yet safely) as possible. Walking Prevalence  Walking is by far the most popular form of physical activity in the United States.  Although 41% of all trips made in the United States are one mile or less, fewer than 10% of all trips are made by walking and biking. [1]  Among students living within 1 mile of school, the percentage of walkers fell from 90% to 31% between 1969 and 2001. [2]  According to the CDC, only 13% of children walk to school today compared with 66% in 1970.[3]  Parents driving children to school comprise 20-30% of morning traffic congestion in urban areas.  Children on a walking school bus walk at about 2 miles per hour, which is half the rate of a typical young adult. The average person takes 2,000 steps per mile.  10,000 steps per day – about 5 miles – is a great way to walk your way to fitness.[4] Walking and Health  According to the CDC , 33% of U.S. adults are classified as obese (BMI≥30), compared to 15% in the 1970s.  Brisk walking (≥3.5 mph) has been shown to reduce body fat, lower blood pressure, increase high-density lipoprotein, and even reduce risks of bone fracture.[5]  Brisk walking has also been associated with lower mortality rates from cardiovascular

disease and cancer.⁴

 21% to 34% of U.S. adults meet public health recommendations (5 times per week for at least 30 minutes) for physical activity by walking. [6]  In the last 40 years, childhood obesity has increased 5-fold for kids age 6-11.  Providing ideal conditions for walking is illegal in most suburban communities.

 What are the top 10 reasons to walk?

 1. Walking prevents type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Prevention Program showed that walking

 150 minutes per week and losing just 7% of your body weight (12-15 pounds) can reduce your risk of diabetes by 58%.

 2. Walking strengthens your heart if you're male. In one study, mortality rates among retired men who walked less than one mile per day were nearly twice that among those who walked more than two miles per day.

 3. Walking strengthens your heart if you're female. Women in the Nurse's Health Study (72,488 female nurses) who walked three hours or more per week reduced their risk of a heart attack or other coronary event by 35% compared with women who did not walk.  4. Walking is good for your brain. In a study on walking and cognitive function, researchers found that women who walked the equivalent of an easy pace at least 1.5 hours per week had significantly better cognitive function and less cognitive decline than women who walked less than 40 minutes per week. Think about that!

 5. Walking is good for your bones. Research shows that postmenopausal women who walk approximately one mile each day have higher whole-body bone density than women who walk shorter distances, and walking is also effective in slowing the rate of bone loss from the legs.

 6. Walking helps alleviate symptoms of depression. Walking for 30 minutes, three to five times per week for 12 weeks reduced symptoms of depression as measured with a standard depression questionnaire by 47%.

 7. Walking reduces the risk of breast and colon cancer. Women who performed the equivalent of one hour and 15 minutes to two and a half hours per week of brisk walking had an 18% decreased risk of breast cancer compared with inactive women. Many studies have shown that exercise can prevent colon cancer, and even if an individual person develops colon cancer, the benefits of exercise appear to continue both by increasing quality of life and reducing mortality.

 8. Walking improves fitness. Walking just three times a week for 30 minutes can significantly increase cardiorespiratory fitness.

 9. Walking in short bouts improves fitness, too! A study of sedentary women showed that short bouts of brisk walking (three 10-minute walks per day) resulted in similar improvements in fitness and were at least as effective in decreasing body fatness as long bouts (one 30-minute walk per day).

 10. Walking improves physical function. Research shows that walking improves fitness and physical function and prevents physical disability in older persons.

Interval Walking Tips - Maximize Your Workout

Here are some great tips for getting the most out of your interval walking to ensure that you are really pushing yourself and giving your body a good challenge. Of course, only use these tips when you feel comfortable with interval walking and are fit enough to exercise.

Tip #1: Break your walk into five-minute intervals and vary the length of the high intensity bursts within each 5-minute interval.

For example, the first high intensity burst could last for 30 seconds, followed by four and a half minutes of walking at your normal pace. The next interval could consist of a one-minute high intensity burst followed by four minutes of walking at your regular pace.

Feel free to vary the length of the high intensity bursts during the five-minute intervals based upon how you feel. In fact, it's best to continue to change the ratio of short intensity to high intensity to always challenge your body.

Tip #2: To really give yourself a good workout, try to minimize the recovery time between your high intensity intervals. For example, try to walk quickly for four minutes, then give yourself only a minute of slower intensity/recovery time before beginning the next high intensity interval. Try to do this a couple times within your workout.